Ventura lost a great man and a good friend. John A. Masterson passed away suddenly on Friday, January 12th, 2018. John loved his adopted hometown and was one of its leading citizens for many years. In return, Ventura gave him many deep and treasured friendships, a successful professional career and a place to raise his children that he believed to be truly special.
There was no greater joy in John's life than his family. He met his wife Judy at the grand opening of Masterson Motors in 1961. She had come in with her girlfriend to sign up to win a free 3-day trip to Las Vegas. John, no fool, copied down her name from the entry and called her up for a date. What followed was a whirlwind romance where he not only had to win her over from another suiter, but also keep her from moving to Dallas for a new job. The force of his personality and maybe his smile and sense of humor won the day. They were married after a 12-week courtship on July 1, 1961. He would often joke, "She came in for a 3 day trip to Las Vegas, and instead she got a week's honeymoon there and a car dealership!"
With four children and six grandchildren, family dinners were always an important time for him. He took the time to ask each of the children about their day and led a very lively meal with lots of laughter. He loved nothing more than a witty remark, even at his own expense. Even as adults, with our own families, we still continued to meet at Mom and Dad's for family dinner every Sunday.
John was born in Portland, Oregon on March 28, 1935 to Ruth and Ralph Masterson. He was the youngest of three children with brother Ralph Jr. and sister Marilyn. He was "Baby John" to the family. The family would soon move to Longview Washington where his father Ralph owned the local laundry and would later own the Chevrolet dealership.
John attended R.A. Long High School where he was a charismatic, friendly and popular student. He anchored the offensive line as the center of the 1952 state Football champions. He was active in the school theater winning an award for outstanding work in Speech and Drama. He was in the school band playing the trombone and was voted Student Body President his senior year.
When John was 16, he got a job as Santa Clause at a local business. In a Santa suit hand made by his sister Marilyn, complete with fur-lined cap and a matching bag, he continued to play Santa Clause for Friends and Rotary for the next 66 years. It was probably his favorite job.
In 1953, John made his way to Stanford University where he played on the freshman football team and was John Brodie's first center. He also joined the ATO fraternity where he met his best friend and future best man, Tom Williamson. He was the president of the Stanford Ski Club and on winter break worked Ski Patrol on Mt Hood. In the summers, he was a camp counselor on Mt. St Helens. He was known to occasionally play the gut-bucket with the Kingston Trio on some of their local performances. John studied Speech and Drama with a minor in Geography while at Stanford. He was an engineer and part-time disc jockey at the local Stanford radio station. When he graduated in 1957, he delivered the Class Oration.
In 1956, a college friend took John to the Pebble Beach road races and he was hooked. He entered his first race using his 1954 Corvette, despite the fact that it had an automatic transmission and white wall tires. His race gear was a white T-shirt and a Styrofoam helmet that he borrowed. He did not win that day but it did change his life. Racing became a passion that he pursued off and on for the next 40 years. Immediately, he formed the Stanford Racing Team, (the only college racing team in history). In 1957, he briefly worked in Reno as a Disc Jockey and bought his first real racecar, an old Ford special that he modified with a new fiberglass body. He christened the car the "Batmobile" (after the popular TV western ? Bat Masterson). For the rest of his racing career he was known as "Bat" Masterson.
This car was heavy. It was very fast on the straightaway but turning was an adventure. It required muscle and dumb luck to keep it on the track. "Bat" quickly became known as the guy who always led the first lap, but sooner or later, hay-bails would fly or engines would blow. He was always a hard-charger in racing as well as life.
After a succession of wild, fast cars and the birth of his first child, Janna, John met his match at Laguna Seca in 1964. While driving a new Lotus 30, purchased using $12,000 borrowed the previous week, he hit an oil patch and lost control of the car. He slammed into a concrete pillar at 100 mph. He barely survived with broken bones, a punctured lung and severely bruised internal organs. The car was not so lucky. After recovering, Judy convinced him that it was time to retire, become a full-time father and automobile dealer.
In 1979, John returned to racing on the vintage car circuit. He acquired racecars, like the HWM Stovebolt Special, a car he watched in that first race at Pebble Beach, and began his second racing career. With his trusty mechanic and friend, Phil Casanta, a big-rig for car transport and his family in tow to watch him for a change, he was soon tearing up tracks all over the United States. He no longer hit hay-bails but still blew an engine now and then.
In 1959, Ralph Sr., who had retired in Santa Barbara, decided to purchase the Volkswagen / Packard dealership from the Heck estate. Ralph Jr. and John were soon installed as the managers. In 1961, Masterson Motors moved "out of town" to 3111 E. Main St. Over the years, Masterson Motors held franchises in Volkswagen, Mercedes, Packard, SAAB, Alpha Romeo, Peugeot, Porsche, Audi and Hyundai. In the late 70's, John and Ralph Jr. split the business, with John taking Volkswagen and Ralph Jr. taking Porsche/Audi. John operated Masterson Motors for 35 years.
John founded multiple businesses during his long career. He owned a gas station, several used car lots in Ventura and Oxnard. He started a leasing operation called Translease and a Vintage Car restoration business called appropriately "Vintage Car Garage". He owned a bookstore, "The Book Nook" run by his sister Marilyn. He had a Rent-A-Wreck and a U-Haul franchise.
During his long automotive career, John served the auto industry in several local, regional and national offices. He was Secretary Treasurer of the U.S. Volkswagen Dealers Association and then became the National Chairman in 1979. He also served as National Vice-Chairman of the U.S. SAAB Dealers. He was Chairman of the Southern California Volkswagen Dealers and President of the Ventura City Motor Car Dealers Association. He was on the Board of Directors of the American International Auto Dealers Association.
Besides his family, I believe John was most proud of his community activism. Whether through elected office or as a marshal at the 4th of July Push-em/Pull-em Parade, he loved giving his time to make Ventura a better place. He was awarded the Jaycee Young Man of the Year award in 1961 and Ventura Citizen of the year in 1974. He was elected as a Trustee of the Ventura Unified School District (1974-1977) as well as a Port Commissioner (1978-1982). He was a founder of Ventura East Rotary, served as President, and was voted Outstanding
Rotarian 4 times.
John served as President of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce as well as served later on the Board of directors. He stayed active throughout his career serving on various commissions targeting economic development. He was also Chairman and a founding member of the BuenaVenturans.
John spent 18 years as a Trustee of the Community Memorial Hospital. He was Chairman of the Community Memorial Hospital Benefactors and an Executive Board member Community Memorial Health Care Foundation. John joined the staff of Community Memorial Hospital in 1992 as Vice President - Community Relations. He remained for 25 years retiring at the age of 81.
He was President and Founding Member of the El Cien Dance Club and served on the Ventura Grand Jury in 1969. He was a founding member of the Ventura College foundation and was deeply involved with local school sports serving as President of the Ventura College Booster Club, Chairman of the Ventura County Stanford Buck club and founding member of the St Bonaventure Booster Club. He was a great supporter of the Ventura Boys and Girls club and he was a member of the Ventura Boy Scouts council.
John was also a published writer. He wrote a column for the Star Free Press "Wheels" section for 10 years winning "Best Business Column" from The L.A. Press Club in 1993. He was a member of the Greater Los Angeles Press Club and the Motor Press Guild and contributed pieces to various automotive publications. In addition, he wrote an occasional piece for the Santa Paula Times on the theater called "Masterson on Stage". He was a Board member of the Santa Paula Theater Center.
John pursued his love of the theater, appearing on stage in over 25 productions in Ventura, Santa Paula and Camarillo. He was versatile - taking parts in musicals, drama and comedies. It didn't matter if he was the lead or in the supporting cast (but he liked to be the lead.)
John produced the weekly Western Automotive Consultant (WAC) report. He was Executive Director of the Ventura Auto Mall Dealers Association and spent 5 years on KVTA radio hosting "Auto-Talk" with Ross Olney as his partner.
John was also an avid Cruiser. He and Judy took over 60 cruises together with highlights being a family cruise through the Panama Canal that included his mother and father. This passion for cruising led to the establishment of a new business, "Capt'n Cruise Travel" where he wrote a monthly Travel Newsletter and sponsored Cruises.
John is celebrated by wife Judy, children Janna, Jeff and his love Kelly Collins, Julia and husband Michael Martin, Mark and wife Jennifer. He loved his grandchildren Damien Masterson, Hannah Martin, Jack Tovey, Bethany Martin, Kate Tovey, Cooper John Masterson, his dear sister Marilyn Kisch and his many nieces and nephews. We are all fortunate to have had this amazing man in our lives and suspect his many friends feel the same.
A celebration of his life is planned from 4:00 - 6:30 on Friday February 9th at the Saticoy Country Club.
For those who desire, donations can be made in memory of John to the Community Memorial Hospital Building Fund for which he worked tirelessly. Make Checks payable to "Community Memorial Health Systems Building Fund. 2674 E. Main St Suite #210, Ventura, CA 93003.
